


Beach Side Chats

by orphan_account



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Meditation, My First Work in This Fandom, Other, talking at the beach
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-15 18:48:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16069112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Pearl and Garnet help Jasper situate on Earth.





	Beach Side Chats

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work for Steven Universe and for anything in over two years! I'm trying to write more now, and I have lots of ideas for stories to write, so hopefully I'll be able to write for Steven Universe more! :)

Breathe in, breathe out.

Garnet’s words repeated over and over and over in Jasper’s mind, a way to relax, Garnet had stated- yet concentrating so hard on those commands did the opposite.

Jasper was trying, really trying, to get used to her new life on Earth, and had reluctantly agreed to spend time with each of the Crystal Gems and use their tactics they had first used to situate themselves on Earth, which was exactly why she was where she was now. Listening to the gentle waves as they crashed against the shore, watching as the sun slowly sunk over the horizon, bringing along with it the golden, orange and pink hues in the sky slowly being replaced with blues and blacks and purples, creating a darker canvas with sprinkles of stars in between. Hands rested on either side of her thighs, smoothing out circles in the ground and effectively catching grains of sand between her nails. The fusion- err, Garnet- sat next to her, intimidating Jasper even now with terrifying silence. She was still angry at the fact she had to listen to her, the fact that such a horrible disgrace could lead an equally disgraceful group.

No, she couldn’t think like that. She was a part of the Crystal Gems now, and this was the whole reason why she was doing all these exercises. She had to unlearn what Homeworld had taught her. She strained, trying to bring her focus back to her slow breathing.

“Jasper, you’re doing okay,” Garnet’s words interrupted her focus, golden eyes fluttered open to watch as the shorter of the two sent a reassuring grin through full lips. That alone made Jasper scowl, proving even further how hard all of this was going to be. Garnet had told her directly- her road to redemption wasn’t going to be a straight line, it would be two steps forward and one step back, and at the current moment it seemed almost impossible for her, even after two weeks of being settled on Earth. That seemed impossible, let alone staying so still on the beach for even five minutes more. Jasper felt new found anger that Garnet noticed immediately, the grains in her hands released as her fists clenched together.

“You made me lose focus…” Jasper felt a growl slip from her throat, her jaw unclenched, and clenched, and her entire head turned to face the fusion. Her stoic glance made Jasper furious. She had been so close to completely relaxing, and Garnet had broken her concentration and hadn’t even apologized! “… Are you going to apologize now? Follow your own rules?”

Garnet remained catatonic almost, though eventually just the whims of a smile found itself curling onto full lips. “You’re right. I’m sorry.” The gem released her straight posture, resting her palms against the grass as she used her arms to support her body’s weight as she leaned back. There was no way to see what emotions her eyes were showing, whether it be amusement or sincere guilt. Jasper assumed the earlier.

“That’s all you’re going to say? ‘I’m sorry’?” Jasper was seething with rage. All the progress she had made the past two hours, feeling herself relax, come at a state of peace, and Garnet had ruined it and said nothing but sorry?!

“How did what I say make you feel?” Garnet’s tone held no clear emotion. Her British accent slipped off her tongue like smooth gravel, and it was a lot out of Jasper to deny herself even that her voice could relax her. Garnet simply had that ability.

“It makes me feel horrible, and upset…” Jasper’s tone was less aggressive, and her words were almost muttered out of her breath and if Jasper didn’t know better she could’ve told herself steam was coming from out of her gem. Her arms were crossed firmly under her chest, and she waited for Garnet to respond with a sincerer apology. However, Garnet only nodded, a stern mhm escaping her lips before she grew quiet. Jasper couldn’t believe her! The passive aggressiveness in the air was incredibly thick, yet gradually, it became only awkward. Jasper squirmed where she sat, giving up her attempts in a fight that earlier she would’ve relished starting off and instead returning to her breathing exercises. This time, Garnet did not distract her.

Thankfully, half an hour of meditation with Garnet had passed with almost no other outward issue, and Garnet praised Jasper in her steady progress, telling the intense gem how much she looked forward to their next meditation session the next day. If only Jasper could feel the same exactly, though she did have to admit, she was rather optimistic for her progress as well.

 

Silence had engulfed them for five minutes now, and rather than expected relief she should’ve been feeling, it felt pressured. Atop the Temple Hill, nothing but the whistling wind could even be distinguished from Jasper’s slow breathing. Glances were shot towards the little Gem with sprawled legs over the cliff, yet Pearl hadn’t returned those looks to Jasper’s newfound disappointment. Jasper broke the silence after the quiet had become too unbearable, pointing out how much more they had in common with each other than she had originally thought. Jasper had loved Pink Diamond, Pearl had been in love with Pink Diamond, yet they both felt grief over Pink Diamond’s betrayal similary. They had both dedicated their lives to her, and despite different reasoning, both had a similar onslaught of intense feelings towards Rose Quartz. 

“Rose Quartz left you. You were her closest partner for thousands of years and she left you for someone she knew for five.” Jasper’s inquiries meant no harm, yet with the thousands of years she had been alive, fourteen wasn’t enough to sew any raw topics shut, and Jasper could clearly see she had poked a sensitive nerve. Still, she was curious on why Pearl still felt so attached.

“You’re right, I suppose. I should hate her and despise her for breaking my heart. And maybe I do a little bit,” Pearl let a sigh out, a hesitant pause in her voice whilst she looked up at the smoldering moon hovering over the two, millions miles away in the sky. “I don’t know why I still love her. I think that’s what love is supposed to do. Confuse and scare you.”

The petite gem leaned back with a rather depressed chuckle, similar like Garnet had earlier, except her form, even when relaxed and slumped, held grace and elegance Jasper, furious with a soft ember blush dusting her cheeks, would never imagine having. Jasper was a quartz, she was supposed to be fierce and large and bulky. But then again, Pearl had taught herself how to fight; maybe she could teach herself to be graceful too.

“My Diamond is shattered, or at least I thought that for thousands of years. And then I learned she and her Pearl pulled off a stunt because she wanted to put human lives over essential resources for her own kind…” Jasper didn’t seem to comprehend her words at first. She had been taught immediately after her corruption had been healed who exactly Rose Quartz was. She felt betrayed, angry, disappointed. And as she spoke her words she could only confuse herself more, especially with what she said next. “…I can respect that.”

Pearl looked up in surprise, robin blue eyes widened in shock as she waited for Jasper to continue. “She saw something she saw worthy of protecting and risked her own life for that thing. You followed her too, and not because you were ordered to… I respect that a lot… I respect you.” When they had first interacted, it had been in an argument on why Pearl, why all three of them really, were beneath her, and now so much later Jasper had shown progress refusing to follow Homeworld’s views. It had been obvious her respect for all three of them had increased the past weeks, and now that she had vocally admitted it, a milestone had just been met.

Then they talked for half an hour. Soon it was an entire hour, and then two. Not all about Pink Diamond and Rose Quartz though, Jasper had even apologized for underestimating Pearl just because of her gem type. Had expressed her guilt towards treating all three of them as if they had come out wrong. And Pearl listened through it all and had talked on her own side as well. They shared memories of the war, and at the end of their conversation, much to both of their surprises, a hug was shared between the two.

 

At first, Jasper thought she would’ve failed immediately. They would’ve had to poof and bubble her back up because she just coulnd’t accustome to Earth and its way of life. She was a Quartz, a perfectly shaped one to Homeworld’s eyes, and she found it impossible to find even just a bit of hope that she could forget everything she had been taught her entire existence. But now, between all the help and support Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl, and even Steven had given her, it didn’t seem so hard anymore. Two weeks of progress had changed her stance on Earth, on “disgraceful” fusions, on overcooked runts, on lost pearls, on Steven, and whatever she could describe him as, drastically. But slowly, and surely, with on going support, she felt she could do it.

She took a deep breath in, slowly releasing through her mouth.

She could do this.


End file.
